


Trepidation

by CherryMountain



Category: Code Black (TV)
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Jealousy, Jesse being Mama, M/M, Mama Sallander, Mangus - Freeform, Sexy Times, doctor stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 17:22:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5384066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryMountain/pseuds/CherryMountain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mario is avoiding Angus, and Angus struggles to find out why. </p><p>Could it be because Mario regretted the night before?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trepidation

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so as I’ve said before I’m really good at angst, and all this doctor stuff was really hard to write, so I hope those parts are good. Other than that I was really excited to write this Mangus, and I’m super excited to share this with you guys. Enjoy!
> 
> 1234567890 is my page break and I’m too lazy to change it, so that’s what that means when you find it
> 
> TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury
> 
> And OnxyRing says Mario/Ben’s eyes are green. So if that’s wrong or you disagree take that up with her, heh.

When Angus stepped up to the nurses station just before 8:00am to ask if any of them had seen Mario, a binder was shoved into his chest before he could even open his mouth. 

“Second degree burns, hand and lower arm. Left the propane running a little too long.”

Angus nodded and relieved Isabel of the binder. "Have you seen-"

She interrupted him by pointing her finger in the air. "Do you hear that yelling?"

Angus frowned, and when he focused on the sounds around him, he did, in fact, hear yelling. A man’s voice was angrily yelling for a doctor, begging for something to ease the pain. 

He nodded to her, his frown still present. This was an ER, there was plenty of yelling, it wasn’t like it was out of the ordinary.

She rose a brow at him as she shook her raised finger. "That's your patient. He's the only one you should be looking for."

Angus sighed, knowing she was right. Maybe she had sensed the concern in him, because otherwise she would have at least gave him an idea. He nodded, stepped away, and headed toward the yelling. He tried to focus on being a doctor as he avoided busy nurses and doctors as they worked with their patients or rushed down the aisle. When he noticed that one of them was Malaya, her head down, focused on a clipboard, his focus disappeared for a moment and he immediately froze in his tracks to stop her. "Malaya!"

She spun around, startled. When she realized this wasn’t an immediate doctor emergency, her shoulders dropped and her brows rose. "Yes, Angus?"

"Have you seen Mario?" He asked, taking a step to her to close the gap between them so others around them didn’t step between them.

Malaya nodded, lifting her clipboard to fidget with it. "Yeah, last I saw he was ordering a CT scan."

Angus nodded, stepping away to once again continue on his course. "Alright, thanks," he told her, because Mario was obviously busy, and so was he, and so was Malaya. He didn’t want to hold her any longer.

"No problem," she called after him as she turned away and continued in the direction she had been going before he stopped her.

He turned, heading toward the row of beds, following the sound of the man still yelling. Angus eventually made it to his patient, and immediately took in the burns. "I'm Doctor Leighton," he said as a way of greeting, then opened his binder to take in his patient’s information.

The patient- Howard Bergess- sighed heavily in relief. "Thank god. Can you help me?"

Angus pursed his lips together, really trying to focus on his patient, although it was hard considering what he was trying _not_ to focus on. "It's what I'm here for."

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" _Tell me."_

_Mario shook his head and took another sip of beer._

_Angus shoved his shoulder playfully. "Dude, tell me. You seriously want to. Why else would you have brought it up?"_

_Mario chuckled while he continued to shake his head. "Fine," he said, and Angus shifted on the couch to face him better, ready for the answer. Mario lowered his gaze with a nod, and shifted the same way Angus did. "Fine," he repeated, his expression growing serious._

_Angus nodded, waiting. When Mario didn't say anything, Angus pushed him again. "_ Mario _."_

_Mario laughed, bringing his gaze back up. "Okay, seven," he finally said, placing his beer on the coffee table before catching Angus’s reaction._

_Angus felt his brows lift jokingly. "Seven. Wow, what did you do, stay up all night?"_

_Mario frowned sarcastically. "You said day, didn't you?"_

_Angus's brows lifted even further. "So- day and night, it's even more?"_

_Mario nodded, laughing at his friend’s surprise. "Why, what about you?"_

_Angus shook his head, a blush rising into his cheeks. "I don't know. Three? Four?"_

_Mario tilted his head in disbelief. "Angus, this is sex, you're going to remember how many times you had it in one day."_

_Angus looked away, blush as present as ever. "Okay, you got me. Three." He brought his own beer back to his lips to do something with his hands. Because compared to seven, plus more, he was nowhere close._

_They sat in silence for a moment, where Angus returned his beer to the coffee table. After another long moment of simply sitting on the couch, because that conversation was obviously over, he finally looked back to Mario to find the other man staring at him._

_Angus watched him right back, trying to figure out what he could be thinking about. His eyes were dark in this lighting, and his mouth was open slightly. And his eyes were flickering across Angus, his face, his body._

_Angus felt himself tense, his blood pumping faster as he thought about what it could mean. But no- they had just been talking about sex with other people, it made sense why-_

_Angus lost his train of thought as Mario’s gaze focused solely on Angus's face, his body slowly shifting closer._

_Angus tried to focus on not reacting, but when Mario grew closer, his stomach clenched in anticipation. Of course he wanted Mario, and it had taken him a while to realize it, but after he did he couldn’t figure out how to deal with it. He had no way of knowing if Mario felt the same way without outright asking him, and Angus didn’t want to ruin their friendship. So he kept his feelings to himself, and they didn’t interfere that much with their friendship, because Angus was completely okay with Mario being strictly his friend. Being with Mario in any way made him happy. So he didn’t deal with it, and instead just let it be._

_But now…_

_Mario was so close now that Angus could feel his body heat. His eyes, Angus could see, were now focused solely on his lips. Mario wanted to kiss him._

_It made his breath hitch, put butterflies in his stomach, and made his eyes widen. In nervousness. Because Mario was going to kiss him, and he didn't want to screw it up. Because were they finally going to move past friendship?_

_Angus watched, blood pounding in his ears, as Mario shifted on the couch, his face close enough now that he could feel the other man’s breathe on his face._

_And then Mario stopped, a breath away, his eyes flickering up to Angus's. And Angus couldn't take it anymore._

_He closed the final distance between them, pressing his lips to Mario’s'._

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"I need some help in here! Get me a gurney!"

Angus recognized Mario’s voice from the waiting room, which meant he probably had a patient that was critical, and Angus's paperwork could wait. 

The resident bolted, determined to work, help save a life. He was in the waiting room, where the shout had come from, in under ten seconds, and found many of the soon-to-be-patients looking in one direction. Angus followed their gazes and saw Mario, surrounded by a few standing bystanders, performing CPR on a seemingly unconscious man on the floor. 

A nurse appeared down the hall coming toward him pushing the needed gurney, and Angus immediately began asking for the space to be cleared. All but one gave them a wide berth as he and the nurse neared Mario, and Angus had to gently guide the last aside to get a clear path. 

The nurse lowered the bed, and Angus crouched down across Mario as Rorish suddenly appeared as well. "What the hell happened?" She asked as she, too, got down to help. 

Mario looked up, met Angus's gaze for a moment, then gave her a quick side-glanced. "He stopped breathing. Hearts not beating. Don't know why yet."

Instinct was in control as Angus stood to help the nurse get the gurney into position, then both crouched beside the unconscious man. Mario stopped CPR for a moment so the four could prepare to lift the patient onto the bed.

"Is anyone with this man?" Rorish asked the surrounding people, and Angus counted off. On three the four of them moved the patient onto the bed, and then they were all standing, the bed up, and Mario didn't hesitate to hop onto the patient and continue CPR. 

When no one replied to Rorish, she moved to help Angus and the nurse push the bed into trauma. "Who is he and why did his heart stop beating?" Leanne asked quietly, to herself or them, Angus didn't know. 

Mario suddenly looked to him, still doing compressions. Angus pretty much had no choice but to meet his gaze, being behind the patients head, right in Mario’s line of sight. 

But as they turned the corner Angus had to look away to help steer the bed, and by the time he looked back, Mario had refocused on his compressions. 

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_He wasn't even thinking about breathing until Mario pulled away, their noses brushing against each other. He stayed close, though, his breath hot on Angus's chin, while both took in heavy breaths._

_Angus stopped himself from moving, from saying something, lest he scare him away. Though he wanted to reach out and grab his shirt, pull him back, even closer than before._

_But then Mario smiled, eyes lowered to Angus's lips. And he just started, with that grin on his face._

_Angus felt his brows furrow, uncertain as to what the smile was about. "What is it?" Had he done something wrong? Something awkward? Was Mario_ laughing _?_

_Mario's smile only grew. "It's good."_

_Angus felt his stomach clench again. Good. As in them kissing was good. Angus certainly thought so._

_"It's_ really _good," Mario said, shifting on his knees even closer so that his nose brushed Angus's again, his hand moving on the couch to settle beside Angus's ear, Mario's knee coming to rest between his._

_Angus felt a smile grow on his own lips, though it was shaky, because he didn't know what to do, what to say. Because kissing him… As Mario said, it was good. And he was moving closer, which was just as good. Because they could do that some more. It was definitely good. And it meant that Mario had to feel the same way._

_Mario slowly brought his hand up to mirror his other one, trapping Angus between them, and Angus just watched dumbly, breathing shaky with nerves as Mario settled above him._

_Angus hated how he was acting so awkward, and Mario was acting so controlled. It wasn't fair, because this was actually happening, they were having their first kiss, and Angus was acting like a teenager getting action for the first time._

_"You're nervous," Mario said quietly, and Angus nodded before he could stop himself._

_Mario smiled again. "Good," he said, then leaned forward to kiss him._

_Angus took in a deep breath and grabbed his shirt, this time to keep him there. And then he kissed him back, the tension leaving him as he savored the feeling._

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Having returned to his paperwork, Angus stood at the nurse’s station. He signed off on a discharge and then closed the red binder, tucking it under his arm as he turned to leave. 

He stopped when he caught sight of Mario walking toward him, a man at his side talking to him as they headed toward Angus and the nurse’s station. 

But when Mario looked ahead, away from who Angus assumed was a family member of a patient, his green eyes swung around and locked onto Angus. His steps immediately faltered, and a moment later, Mario had moved, suddenly turning to the patient beside him, stopping their progression. Mario spoke quietly to the man and pointed in Angus' direction. The man nodded, obviously confused at what Mario was saying.

Then Mario suddenly turned around and walked in the same direction he had come from, leaving the patient to stand there confused for a moment before he walked toward the nurse’s station uncertainly. It took Angus a moment to realize Mario told him to continue without him.

Had Mario been purposefully avoiding him all day? Just as he clearly had just then?

Angus moved, passing the disoriented man, heading in Mario’s direction. He had been determined to actually talk to Mario sometime this shift, about what had happened last night. But now? Angus was worried that Mario might be regretting last night. Angus had to know now, had to talk to him.

He saw Mario’s back as the man turned around a group of nurses and down the hall, disappearing from sight. By the time Angus rounded the same corner, Mario was nowhere in sight of the many patients and gurneys lining the walls that had arrived during code red.

He sighed, taking in the sight. Patients first. Personal life later.

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Angus sat alone during his break, having ate his sandwich fairly quickly. He still had plenty of time before he had to get back to work, however, and none of his current patients needed his immediate assistance.

And so he sat by himself in the break room, holding a handful of peppermints. He picked one out of his hand and looked to the bowl an arm’s length away on the table, and lifted his hand, resting his elbow on the table. After a moment, he gently threw the mint. When it was empty, the first mint typically almost flew right back out the shallow bowl, but since there was already one in there, it settled calmly into the bowl.

He let out a sigh as he readied the next mint, telling himself he’d return to work after this handful. Because Angus was worried. He had no idea why Mario was avoiding him. It wasn’t like he could put it off on working, because Angus had clearly seen him outright change his course and walk in the complete opposite direction of Angus. No, something was going through Mario’s mind, and Angus could only guess as to what it was.

He launched the next mint, wondering what could have Mario avoiding him. Maybe… did he regret last night? Angus shook his head. It made sense, but it didn’t. Maybe he was scared that Angus regretted it? But no, because Angus was the one chasing after _him_.

The mint bounced out of the bowl and clanged onto the table, stopping centimeters short of falling off the end. Angus pressed his lips into a line as he lowered his hand back to his other and retrieved another mint. Did Mario want to end it before it even began?

Angus stiffened, realizing what that meant. Is that why Mario was avoiding him? Did he want to wait to break it to him? Or was he just doing all this to give him the hint? Angus groaned aloud, because it didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. Mario had been grinning last night. Why would he have enjoyed it and then act like he didn’t the next day? Was he going to say that they couldn’t because of their jobs? Because Mario had nothing if he got fired because of it? That was the most reasonable explanation, and it was probably the worst for Angus out of all of them.

He raised his hand again, but before he could throw it, Malaya jogged by the windows of the break room, and if she was running, something could be happening. It was time he got back out there anyway, so he could stop thinking about Mario.

He stood, hurriedly placing the rest of the mints in the bowl as he made his way out of the break room.

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_Angus dragged his hands around to Mario's back and pulled him closer. He groaned at the friction it caused by bringing Mario's thigh between his legs._

_Mario suddenly pulled away, taking in shaky breaths. "We probably shouldn't... do this too fast."_

_Angus nodded, pulling Mario back to him. Angus pressed his mouth to his neck, grazing his teeth against his skin, and Mario shifted on top of him letting out his own groan._

_"Slow," Mario murmured, leaning into him._

_"Mhmm," Angus hummed, pressing harder, panting through his teeth._

_Mario’s hands snaked into his hair, then he pulled Angus's head back and pressed their lips together again. Mario shifted over Angus, pressing his entire body down in a slow rock forward, straight into his hips._

_Angus gasped at the satisfying pressure, and Mario gently bit down at his open lip._

_Angus grabbed his hips, attempted to pull him down again to soothe the hunger growing below his stomach, but before he could Mario suddenly shifted away from him, practically falling off the couch as he stood._

_Angus opened his eyes to watch him, not realizing when he had closed them in the first part. Mario ran a hand over his face as he stepped away toward the door, trying to catch his breath._

_When Angus noticed he looked worried, he stood, too, also trying to control his breathing._

_"I don't... want to ruin this," Mario said, spinning to Angus, dropping his hand to place both on his hips seriously._

_Angus felt his brows raise teasingly. "You..." he breathed in mock disbelief, "Mario The Player... don't want to ruin..._ this _?"_

_Mario half-forced a laugh with a quick glance around the room. "Yeah. Is there a problem with taking it slow?"_

_Angus shifted on his feet, a soft smirk on his face. "Are you asking to go steady with me?"_

_Mario gave him an annoyed glare. "Shut up."_

_Angus grinned. Because he didn't have to be nervous. Because Mario wanted him. Long term. And Angus was one hundred percent happy with that._

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Someone appeared at Angus’s side, and Angus finished scratching his notes down before looking up. He found Mario leaning impatiently against the counter, waiting for him to look up. When Angus did, he froze in surprise and tension, wondering why he was there, but Mario remained serious at work. “Angus, I need a second opinion and there’s no one else around.”

Angus blinked once before his brows lowered in confusion and stubbornness. “So I’m your last resort now?” He asked sarcastically, partly annoyed that Mario suddenly had the nerve to seek him out after purposefully avoiding him all day, and acting like he hadn’t. But when Mario immediately gave him that still impatient look, Angus nodded, seeing that Mario was working. Angus knew they were still in code red, so there wasn’t any time to talk it out as Angus hoped. But he was going to make sure they would talk later. “What is it?”

Mario pushed himself from the counter and headed toward trauma, expecting Angus to follow him. Angus did, setting his binder down out of the way, catching up within seconds.

“Patient thinks I didn’t do his stitches right,” Mario told him as they walked, not breaking stride to look up at him. “But I keep telling him I stitched him up fine. Said he’s going to call his lawyer who he plays golf with if I didn’t get a real doctor to double check it.”

Angus held back his slight amusement before Mario gestured to his patient, a regular man in a hospital gown, probably in his late sixties with a seemingly permanently stern face. They approached the man, and Mario immediately folded his arms across his chest as the man looked up to them. The man didn’t even try to hide his glare from Mario, but Mario tried to remain professional, Angus could tell, but the pursing of his lips told Angus Mario was actually annoyed.

Angus gave the patient a tight smile. “I’m Doctor Leighton. What can I do for you?”

The man gestured wildly toward Mario, speaking to Angus. “This man gave me stitches and it doesn’t look right.” The man held out his arm, and Angus leaned forward as he spotted said stitches on the back of his arm.

Angus felt his eyes narrow as he studied the stitches for a moment, but they looked like ordinary stitches. Angus straightened, not seeing why the guy was worried. “Simple running stitches, I don’t see a problem.”

The man’s mouth fell open, probably startled that Angus hadn’t told him he was right. He could see why Mario didn’t like the guy. Mario beside him shifted from annoyed to smug.

The man looked back down to his arm, his irritation once again showing. “But it’s all puffy, and tight looking. He didn’t do them too tight?”

Angus slowly shook his head. “You do have an injury, sir, it’s normal for wounds to be swollen.”

The man turned his gaze to Mario for a second, then back to Angus, uncertain. “That’s what he said,” he said slowly.

Angus felt his brows rise overtly and lifted his hand to gesture to Mario. “He _is_ a doctor.”

The man glared at the bed as if he’d just been insulted and he didn’t have a comeback. Which was true.

Mario and Angus stepped away, and once they were out of earshot of the man, Mario stepped away. “Thanks,” he told Angus, then retrieved a red binder from a nearby tray table, giving Angus only a small glance. “I have another patient.”

And then he was walking away, and Angus nodded numbly to his disappearing figure.

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Mario couldn't avoid him now, as they were both working with patients. Mario was working, so he hadn’t noticed Angus where he was. And Angus was preparing a tray, so he had a moment to take in his surroundings. And there Mario was, a few beds over treating his own patient.

Mario's patient flipped her hair over her shoulder as he released her now bandaged hand. He grinned at her, his eyes lowering for a moment before going back up to her face. And she smiled wide.

Angus stiffened. He was... he was flirting with her. After-

Mario pushed back on his stool causing it to turn, and he looked up, as if he knew he was being watched. His gaze met Angus's, and he, too, stiffened. For a different reason, probably. Because Angus was furious, and confused, and heartbroken. Mario was just caught in the act. 

Angus looked away, attempting to refocus on his patient. A man who'd been in a car accident who had bruised ribs and bits of glass caught in his skin. But it took a moment. Because all he could think about now was Mario thinking last night meant nothing. But Angus didn't understand. How- Was it all an act? The smiles between kisses, the gentle caress of his hands, the nervous hesitation. Why would he fake it all? Was he just using Angus somehow?

The nurse working above him at the patients face said his name, finally drawing him to refocus. Jane- or was it Jen?- watched him with a hint of worry in her brows, but irritation at her lips. He nodded to her, finally grabbed the gauze, telling her he was fine. He had to focus on his patient, and it was somewhat easier than he thought it would be to begin wrapping the patients’ ribs and engage in a bit of small talk with the two of them to make him more comfortable. So easy, he almost forgot to not feel heartbroken. 

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Code: Black. 4:23am. 

Rorish suddenly appeared beside Angus, who was shuffling through red binders. "Something's distracting you, I can tell. But we're in code black, and I need my doctors at their best."

Angus immediately nodded, although he already knew he had to focus. He just needed a patient to focus on.

“We got paramedics coming in, two injured, one critical,” she told him quickly. “I need you with me.”

Angus nodded again, immediately moving to follow her as she took his nod as ready to go. They hurried to meet the paramedics, slipping gloves on, meeting up with Malaya and Jesse just as they made it to the back doors.

“Spinal injury, head trauma, broken ribs, internal bleeding, fractured arm,” the paramedic spouted off, and they worked from there.

They squeezed the patient between two others, and Rorish got her stethoscope out and checked the patients breathing. “Collapsed lung, we need to intubate,” she said almost immediately after listening, quickly replacing it around her neck. “Malaya.”

Malaya immediately moved to grab her supplies, and Rorish turned to Angus. “Ultrasound, there’s blood in her lungs and we need to get it out.”

Angus nodded and moved as well, grabbing the nearest ultrasound machine, almost tripping over a small nurse who darted by with plenty of gauze in her hands. Angus kicked discarded cloth out of the ultrasounds’ path as he brought it to the bed to see that Rorish had retrieved a syringe. Jesse maneuvered between them to press gauze to the patient’s side where the ribs had pierced her skin while Angus squirted the ultrasound gel on the skin that Rorish had cut the cloth away.

Malaya announced that she had finished her procedure as Angus steadied the ultrasound in place for Rorish. The senior doctor then easily slipped the syringe in and focused on the ultrasound monitor as she worked. With an experienced hand she found her mark and began slowly pulling back on the syringe.

The entire ordeal happened in only minutes, and somehow in those minutes they had stabilized the patient enough so that she was not dying at the moment.

“Doctor Leighton,” someone suddenly announced, and Angus tried to remain as still as possible as he searched the immediate crowd beside him searching for the woman who had called him. Risa was there, her brows raised in worry. “It’s your patient, Howard Bergess?”

He glanced back to Rorish to see her pulling the full syringe from the patient. “I’m a little busy here,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm as he turned back to the nurse. She nodded, seeing that he was busy. It was her job to inform him, and she shifted in understanding as if ready to leave.

“Go ahead, Doctor Leighton,” he heard Rorish say behind him, and he turned back around to see that Jesse was ready to take his place. “He’s your patient, and we’ve got this one from here.”

Angus nodded, putting the wand back on the cart, and he shifted away, ripping his gloves off as he turned to see that Risa was waiting patiently. He nodded to her, and together they walked away quickly toward Bergess’s bed.

“He’s complaining of a major headache, and his nose started bleeding,” she told him as they walked, worry lacing her voice.

“Painkillers must have worn off,” he commented, shifting quickly to the opposite side of the hall to grab new gloves on his way before returning to her side. He could see the man in his bed through the bustling nurses and doctors, and he looked asleep.

“Probably,” Risa agreed. “But he also threw up a half hour ago. He said he was fine, but with the bloody nose…”

Angus nodded, now concerned for his patient, going over what all the symptoms meant. He had an idea as he finished pulling on his gloves just as they came up to Bergess’s bed.

Angus retrieved his penlight as he came up to Bergess’s side and called his name. “Howard, you have a headache?” Angus asked, and the man startled his eyes opened, but immediately cringed and angled his head to the side, blinking rapidly.

“Howard?” Angus pressed, and the man suddenly nodded.

“Yeah, headache,” he mumbled.

Angus grabbed his attention by pressing his face closer and touching his face. Angus quickly checked the man’s pupils. “Howard, do you know where you are?”

He flinched from the light and looked disoriented once again. “Wha…” Howard mumbled. “Mmm.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Angus asked, returning his pen and lifting two fingers. “Howard?” Angus pressed when he realized he wasn’t exactly focused.

Howard squinted up at him again, his gaze barely focusing. “Fingers? Six,” he dismissed weakly, and looked away again, his face scrunched up in frustration and obvious discomfort.

Angus straightened, realizing the symptoms added up. “I think he has a TBI, let’s get a CT scan to check for a skull fracture,” he told Risa. She nodded and stepped away, heading to put the order in for him.

Angus refocused on Howard. “Howard, what happened when you got burned? Did you hit your head?”

Howard squeezed his eyes shut. “Yeah… fell.”

Angus nodded, his theory confirmed. “You must have hit your head pretty hard, Howard, because you have bruising in your brain. We’re going to scan your skull to see if you have any fractures, okay?”

Howard bowed his head in a fitful nod, and Angus nodded back again. “We’ll take care of you, Howard,” he said quietly.

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Mario sighed as he closed his locker door shut. It had practically been a twenty-four hour shift, and he was glad he didn’t have to worry about anyone dying on him for the time being.

He stepped toward the door to leave, but when someone stepped through from the other side, he immediately realized that there were equally dreadful things that could happen when he wasn’t working. Like Angus standing there stiffly, looking at him blankly.

Mario ducked his head, hoping the man would let him by, but Angus remained where he was, a glare appearing around his eyes, standing right in front of the door.

Mario avoided his gaze. "Look, can we-"

Angus quickly interrupted him, his tone cutting Mario off. "Act like last night- or two nights ago, whatever- didn't happen? Did it even mean anything to you?"

Mario felt his eyes widen at Angus’s sudden anger. All his joints, and his thoughts, halted in place in shock. Once the shock wore off, guilt soon filled him. At the start of his shift, he hadn’t thought how his actions might hurt Angus. He hadn’t wanted to hurt him, but judging by his anger, Angus hadn’t been taking it well.

Mario startled around at the sound of the door opening, and turned to find Neal step in the other door. The man stopping just inside the door when he saw them, probably sensing something was going on.

Mario turned back to Angus, who was obviously trying to compose himself in front of the senior doctor. Mario, seeing his opportunity to escape, took it. "Not now, okay?" Mario told him, and he heard the guilt that came with it. But he had no choice, because they really couldn’t talk there, not with what Angus wanted to talk about.

But the guilt clawed at his stomach as he rushed through the doorway and toward the exit.

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He waited in the parking lot for what seemed like forever, guilt and worry going through his head. He tried to distract himself by looking at the car he was standing by, and not toward the hospital, but it wasn’t _his_ car, so it didn’t do much for him. He knew he’d been acting like a dick, but he hadn’t known what else to do. Maybe he should have let Angus know what he was doing, but he hadn’t known if he would have been able to face Angus without grinning like an idiot.

Last night he had taken a bold move, kissing Angus. He had had a feeling Angus felt the same way about him, but he hadn’t know for sure. And finally he had decided to try and find out.

Turns out Angus did. And it was one of the best nights of his life. And he didn’t want to tell Angus that at work for fear that it affected their abilities to work.

 _That_ plan hadn’t worked.

Mario had avoided Angus once, and then the rest of the day he couldn’t help it. He hadn’t wanted to explain to him why he avoided him the first time, and so he avoided him every time he could. And it was horrible, because he felt guilty, and he saw the hurt on Angus’s face, along with confusion and worry. He knew he messed up. And now he had to fix it.

Mario turned back to the hospital just in time to see Angus halfway between him and the building. Angus didn’t seem to see him at first, his expression one of anguish, lost in thought. Mario waited for him to notice him, which didn’t happen until Angus was practically at the car. When he did, Angus stopped, his entire body tensing as he stared at Mario openly.

Mario took a step toward him, face falling in guilt. “Angus, I'm sorry. I-”

Angus's expression went from stunned to anger quickly. "What is _with_ you?” He ground out, and Mario took a step back in shock. Angus continued his outburst, ignoring Mario’s obvious surprise. “First you say you want to take it slow, and then you avoid me all day as if us making out never happened. And then you have the nerve to openly flirt with a patient? And just now, in the locker room, what, we can't talk about it?”

Mario shifted, glancing down to his feet for a brief moment. Because when he put it that way he sounded even _more_ like a dick. "Look, I didn't want to-" he cut himself off and shifted again.

“You don’t want to do this, do you?” Angus asked, brows furrowing deeper, his hands clenching into fists. “You regret last night.”

Mario looked away again and took in a breath, trying to remain calm. Because if Angus yelled again he was going to start, too, and he really didn’t want it to sound like he was mad at Angus. Because he wasn’t. He thought for a moment, trying to work out what to say. After a moment he looked back up to see Angus watching him, waiting. "I don't need them thinking that me and you working together will affect our abilities of being doctors.”

Angus’s brows shifted from anger to confusion. "That's why you were avoiding me?" He asked, his voice now quiet and hopeful.

Mario felt his face flush. "What? I wasn't avoiding you, I just..."

Angus rose a brow in question, waiting for Mario to tell him he was wrong.

Mario rolled his head, because he hadn’t known what to say. "Okay, I was avoiding you, but not because it didn't mean anything.” He looked back to Angus, putting as much seriousness and meaning into it he could. “Because it did. Of course it did."

Angus said nothing, but after a long moment he smiled softly, and Mario was sure he didn’t even know he was doing it.

"Like I said,” Mario told him, still trying to remain serious and as honest as he could. “I didn't want them to think we could be distracted by each other, so..." He blushed again, his emotions betraying him. "I made it a point to not go see you."

When Angus didn’t say anything, just continued to stand there with a rather happy smile, Mario took a step toward, stuffing his hands in his pocket as he looked up at him, feeling like he still had to explain himself. "Look, about the flirting; she started it, and it's practically instinct for me to immediately flirt back. Even if I didn’t exactly realize what I was doing. It didn't mean anything. And it won’t happen again.

“And if you brought up last night, said something mushy, I would have had to kiss you,” Mario told him, speaking quicker. “And then we’d be kissing at work, and again, I don’t want people to think that we can’t be professional. Because we can. At least I hope we can.”

Angus stepped forward, too, and Mario was relieved he didn’t have to keep talking, because if he did he’d probably embarrass himself further.

“I understand,” Angus said with a nod. “You didn’t want to act differently toward me, but by trying that you just came off as an asshole.” Mario opened his mouth to disagree, but realized he was right. “I forgive you," Angus told him, a small smile on his lips, taking the last step toward him to close the gap between them. "And I promise not to be mushy at work, because you’re right; we have to be professional."

Mario sighed in relief, smiling up at him. Angus smiled back, leaning forward, before his features softened. Mario met him halfway, and their lips pressed together in a slow, gentle kiss. And it was perfect, Mario thought as he smiled once more. Angus smiled back, his eyes lowered.

"Get a room!" A woman yelled with a laugh, and Mario and Angus broke apart to find Christa, Malaya, Jesse, and Leanne walking toward them with smiles on their faces, Malaya dropping her hands back down to her sides as the group broke apart toward their separate cars. 

Angus grinned, because smiles meant they had their approval, but Mario found himself blushing He hadn’t exactly planned on having an audience. And now they all knew he and Angus were a thing. Which meant anyone could bring it up at work. Great.  

"And that room will not be here because there will be none of that under my roof,” Jesse yelled to them, pointing at them over his low car. “So do all that stuff before you get home, alright? Curfew is at eight."

Malaya and Christa outright laughed at his joke as they made it to their cars, Jesse smirked to himself, and Leanna smiling, casting her eyes away with a shake of her head as she kept walking.

“Breakfast?” Christa asked, looking to Mario and Angus over her open car door.

Angus grinned, stepping around Mario to the car they were standing by. “See you there.”

Mario kicked himself into gear, moving to his own car. “Yeah.” He pointed to Christa and then Malaya, giving them stern glares. “But we are _not_ talking about this, okay?”

Christa simply grinned as she took that as his answer and ducked into her car, but Malaya chuckled lightly as she did the same.

Mario stopped at the end of his car and glanced back to Angus, who was watching him over his own vehicle. He was still grinning, in happiness and amusement, and Mario found himself sighing. They were probably going to talk about it.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m quite happy with how this turned out, let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](http://cherryonamountain.tumblr.com/), and I may or may not post another Mangus.


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